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Astatutory body orstatutory authority is a body set up bylaw (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by beingempowered or delegated to set rules (for exampleregulations orstatutory instruments) in their field. They are typically found in countries which are governed by aBritish style of parliamentary democracy such as theUnited Kingdom and theCommonwealth countries likeAustralia,Canada,India andNew Zealand. They are also found inHong Kong,Israel and elsewhere. Statutory authorities may also bestatutory corporations, if created as abody corporate.
Federal statutory authorities are established under thePublic Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.[1] "A statutory authority is a generic term for an authorisation by Parliament given to a person or group of people to exercise specific powers. A statutory authority can be established as a corporate Commonwealth entity or a non-corporate Commonwealth entity. A statutory authority may also be a body within a Commonwealth entity, exercising the powers given by Parliament but administratively part of the entity."[2]
Astatutory corporation is defined in the government glossary as a "statutory body that is a body corporate, including an entity created under section 87 of the PGPA Act" (i.e. a statutory authority may be a statutory corporation).[3] An earlier definition describes a statutory corporation as "a statutory authority that is a body corporate",[4] and theNew South Wales Government's Land Registry Services defines a state-owned corporation as "a statutory authority that has corporate status".[5]
Statutory authorities at the State or Territory level are established under corresponding State or Territory laws. Each statutory authority tends to have its own enabling legislation, ororiginating act, even if it was established before the relevant over-riding legislation. For example, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) was established in 1949 by theScience and Industry Research Act, but it has since come under the jurisdiction of theCommonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 in the past, and nowPublic Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth) as legislation covering statutory authorities has evolved.
Laws made by statutory authorities are usually referred to as regulations. They are not cited in the same fashion as an act of parliament, but usually with specific initials (depending on the authority) and a number.
Just as with laws enacted by Parliament, all laws made by a statutory authority must be published in the Government Gazette.
TheParliament of Australia, or aState or Territory Parliament, will delegate its authority to a statutory authority for several reasons;
The power to enact legislation has been delegated by Australian Parliaments (State and/or Federal) in the following areas;
